Hudson Valley health facilities react to Supreme Court decision

As some cheer more money, others fear unexpected costs

The first thing Steve Kelley felt was shock. The Ellenville Regional Hospital CEO was confident the Supreme Court would repeal the portion requiring people to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. It left that and all but one other portion of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act intact.

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By Michael Novinson

recordonline.com

By Michael Novinson

Posted Jun. 29, 2012 at 10:25 AM
Updated Jun 29, 2012 at 10:39 AM

By Michael Novinson

Posted Jun. 29, 2012 at 10:25 AM
Updated Jun 29, 2012 at 10:39 AM

» Social News

The first thing Steve Kelley felt was shock.

The Ellenville Regional Hospital CEO was confident the Supreme Court would repeal the portion requiring people to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. It left that and all but one other portion of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act intact.

“I didn't expect that everything would hold,” he said.

Then Kelley felt conflicted.

He loves the idea of expanding health care access but worries that it will bankrupt hospitals or those already paying into the health care system.

“I'm skeptical that we're going to be able to insure 30 million more people without spending more money,” he said.

Kelley expects that higher copayments from Medicare patients, smokers and obese people will be needed to bankroll the Affordable Care Act.

The reforms will strip hospitals across the country of $155 billion over the next decade as care ideally shifts from emergency rooms to primary care physicians, said Kevin Dahill, president of the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association.

But there's already a shortage of such physicians, Kelley said, and funding cuts will make it even harder to attract new doctors into primary care.

That's where community health centers come in, said Anne Nolan, president of Hudson River HealthCare.

The reform created an $11 billion trust fund for community health centers to train doctors and expand offerings.

The $4.92 million secured by Hudson River to expand services in Peekskill, Goshen and Walden would have been in peril had the Supreme Court rolled back the entire act.

“It's a great day,” she said.

The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center increased its patient load from 13,000 to 18,000 in the 27 months since health care reform was passed, said CEO Linda Muller.

Federal funds will allow the health center to open new facilities in Newburgh and Highland Falls by March 2013.

Muller expects Greater Hudson will have the capacity to serve 30,000 patients in coming years.

“The (reform) is going to improve the lives of millions of Americans,” Muller said.

Even the smaller provisions will benefit local providers. These items would have been stricken had the Supreme Court opted to invalidate the law.

Crystal Run Healthcare is one of just 27 facilities nationwide participating in a program where compensation is determined by treatment outcomes rather than the number of transactions carried out, said CEO Hal Teitelbaum.

He expects this program – part of the Affordable Care Act – will result in healthier patients at a lower cost.

“The march to transforming health care is under way,” Teitelbaum said.

Woodbourne resident Nancy Greene said it's unfair to burden the insured with having to pay for expanding coverage.

“People that had the foresight to plan ahead are getting raked over the coals,” she said.

She also laments that the requirement to purchase insurance will be enforced against law-abiding, hard-working people.